Interactive Evolution of 8–Bit Melodies with Genetic Programming towards Finding Aesthetic Measures for Sound

Citation

Kaliakatsos-Papakostas MA, Epitropakis M, Floros A & Vrahatis MN (2012) Interactive Evolution of 8–Bit Melodies with Genetic Programming towards Finding Aesthetic Measures for Sound. In: Machado P, Romero J & Carballal A (eds.) Evolutionary and Biologically Inspired Music, Sound, Art and Design - First International Conference, EvoMUSART 2012, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 7247. 1st International Conference and 10th European Event on Evolutionary and Biologically Inspired Music, Sound, Art and Design, Malaga, Spain, 11.04.2012-13.04.2012. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 141-152. http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-29142-5_13; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29142-5_13

Abstract
The efficient specification of aesthetic measures for music as a part of modelling human conception of sound is a challenging task and has motivated several research works. It is not only targeted to the creation of automatic music composers and raters, but also reinforces the research for a deeper understanding of human noesis. The aim of this work is twofold: first, it proposes an Interactive Evolution system that uses Genetic Programming to evolve simple 8-bit melodies. The results obtained by subjective tests indicate that evolution is driven towards more user-preferable sounds. In turn, by monitoring features of the melodies in different evolution stages, indications are provided that some sound features may subsume information about aesthetic criteria. The results are promising and signify that further study of aesthetic preference through Interactive Evolution may accelerate the progress towards defining aesthetic measures for sound and music.